


Protecting Eden's Gates

by Schgain



Category: OFF (Game)
Genre: AU, Biblical Motifs, Deconstruction Fic, Moral Ambiguity, Moral Dilemnas, Unhealthy Friendships, Zacharie can't tell if he genuinely enjoys other people or if he just likes fucking with them, Zacharie's POV, but its up for you to decide, conmen, it could be said that this story has a good ending, one-sided friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-16
Updated: 2015-03-16
Packaged: 2018-03-18 03:14:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3553985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Schgain/pseuds/Schgain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zacharie realizes all at once what is happening to his world. Up until the very end he still believes he'll be fine (as long as he can make money from it).</p>
            </blockquote>





	Protecting Eden's Gates

He cant afford to make alliances. 

Last time he made an alliance his girlfriend got her skull bashed in. 

So he doesn't make connections. He doesn't make friends. At least no more than Pablo. 

He waits on his customers with friendly tone and casual banter, remembers the names of his regulars. He doesn't befriend them. He doesn't play favorites. 

He sips his coffee (black- the sugar is too unkind to his body and thoughts) and when a new man comes in to his store, he is frightened. 

Not of change, no; Zacharie has never been frightened by change. But he is tall, and foreboding, and when he walks in he can only get out a whisper of "harbinger...." Before clearing his throat and becoming once again the helpful traveling merchant. 

Le Batteur poses no threat. 

He learns this after many encounters, many trades of items back and forth. Credits changed hands with epidermis and colours and aura. Like it was supposed to. 

Le Batteur posed no threat, Zacharie had to repeat to himself when he saw the man standing over what was left of Japhet and Valerie. 

When the colour of zone 2 faded, he worried. 

Not that natural, self-preserving worry he had felt when all life had drained under Dedan's hand. No. He worried for the Judge, sweet Pablo, and carried on the poor cat's role so he could mourn. He also worried for Le Batteur, and whatever the Puppeteer was making him do. How much of it was his control. He seemed to be doing most of the decisions himself, and never looked terribly under the whim of another. But nonetheless, he worried about the Batteur. He worried about the consequences of the man's actions, and what would remain, and what he defined as pure. 

And though Pablo told him that this man was an imposter bent on destruction, Zacharie sighed and shook his head and chuckled with no smile in his voice. 

"I will not oppose him until there is no more money to be had from his wallet," he said, for Zacharie did not lie. "It's nothing personal."

It was personal. But he was a smug bastard of an NPC and he would play his role to the end. 

He donned the cat mask and he fake-meowed and nearly chuckled when Le Batteur was perturbed by his paper thin disguise. He made snide remarks, became thoroughly unhelpful at times, guided and advised and stayed by the side of this murderer and he did not. Make. Alliances. 

But Zacharie could not lie, so when he sat down on the metro with the fucker, and called him Amigo, he found the terminology to be true, despite Le Batteur showing no signs of camaraderie. 

The Judge found him in the Room, standing over the corpse of Hugo, and explained his plan. 

Zacharie looked at the item he had in his hand: the Aries Card. Le Batteur had made his choice, taken the Ashley Bat and killed his wife and child. 

Pablo admitted he too had once been fond of the messianic saviour, but only felt a lingering bitterness and hatred. 

Zacharie didn't lie, so he told Pablo about how morals often got in the way of business, and it was inconveniencing. 

Pablo understood the meaning, and nodded. 

Zacharie stared at Le Batteur, at the Switch, at Pablo, and he felt his Sword, the Flaming Sword Of Jophiel, in his grasp. He felt the memory of wings flapping, he felt his accidental seraphic nature once again. Perhaps he was living on bad memories. 

But when the Puppeteer made no choice, picked no Champion, and Le Batteur hit a poor cat with his bat, Zacharie for once lent Pablo his blade, and shoved the fire into Le Batteur's monstrous sternum. 

And he picked up his unconscious cat, his only friend, and went to hide somewhere else in the room. 

"All is forgiven   
When there  
Is nothing  
Left  
To forgive."

**Author's Note:**

> Did Pablo die? Did Zach pull the switch? What happened to the Add-Ons? Figure it out yourself.


End file.
